Game Review: Far Cry 3

Trouble in Paradise is a phrase that was made for the Far Cry series. Far Cry 3 takes that phrase to a whole new level. When a group of partying travellers just happened upon the wrong island, and right into the arms of madness.

Meet Midres Vaas, this particularly cheerful gentlemen holding up a big knife adorning all the boxes of Far Cry 3. Vaas is a bloodthirsty pirate and he will be your captor for the duration of your stay. You play Jason, part of a group of rich kids on a vacation, except instead of a ticket to paradise they got a one way straight down to hell. You escape Vaas’s clutches deep into the tropical forest, where you will transform from a boy into a warrior.

Once you escape you are helped by the island’s natives, who unlock the warrior in you through tattoes as you save your friends, as well as the natives from Vaas’s rule. The story of Far Cry 3 touches on themes of madness, with the madman Vaas stealing the show, though, with all it’s up’s and downs the story comes up short. However, Far Cry 3 is not about the story.

The gameplay of Far Cry 3 a cut above normal first person shooter action games. The island is an open world for you to explore. Where you can actually unlock the inner Rambo in you. However before you strike from the foliage at unsuspecting passers by, you have to learn to survive. The wilderness is harsh and you will have to make your own tools and weapons, or harvest plants to eat or scavenge for things that you need in order to stay alive. While survival is not a big part of the game it still is important in your powering up. Exploration too plays a big part. Peppered across the island are things to find. From getting pally with the natives to discovering ancient ruins and discarded World War II stuff. So be sure to explore a lot.

The rest of the game is 100% pure stealth/action shooter. Depending on your playing style you can be either stealth Rambo or crazy gunman Rambo. You can emerge from the water to cut your opponent down, or you could slice them up from behind. Far Cry 3 is gleefully violent, so everything is very real and bloody. You can mix in action, by causing destruction which causes panic, as you combine stealth and outright gunplay to surprise and overpower enemies.

While Jason is hating his vacation, that should not stop you from having your own. You can drive various vehicles around the island. Not only that you can also paraglide to provide some death from above, or just get a sense of the area. The choice is yours how you want to take down your enemies, the possibilities are as endless as the game allows it to be. A fantastic feeling of freedom. As you power up Jaison from a rich prick to a mad jungle warrior, the blood lust seems to take over you. A powerful feeling Far Cry 3 empowers you with.

You are rescued by Dennis a member of tribe called the Rakyat, natives of the island and led by a priestess called Citra. Who teach you the ways of the warrior, rather let you unlock it yourself, and they appear as tattoos. In addition to these power up’s you also have access to lots and lots of guns. You will not only have to fend off Vaas’s group but lots of dangerous fauna lurks in the wilderness. All of this makes for a fun and fantastic game.

Multiplayer and Co-op are both present in the game. While multiplayer is pretty lackluster, mostly because it throws out everything special about the single player and just becomes drab. Co-op is quite fun though, as it focusses on another side of the story with four new characters you can play with a friend with. So it’s fun to progress through this side story with some company.

The graphics of Far Cry 3 are brilliant. Just astounding. Even on the PS3 and Xbox 360 this game shines. Though the best is undoubtedly the PC with an smooth 35 frames per second on my Nvidia 560Ti graphic card with the graphics set at Very High. With highly detailed foliage you can actually get lost in, to amazing facial features and motion capture to make the characters very lifelike. The island truly comes alive. Though more than the Vaas or the dangers lurking within, watch out for glitches and crashes more. So update often.

Far Cry 3 is a fantastic game if you like violence, and first person shooters. Don’t come for the story, instead come to have an awesome time with it’s fantastic action and addictive stealth killing, survival and exploration.Trust me, you won’t be running out of things to do on the island. An incredibly deep game the hits where it counts. Highly recommended.